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Help1

Dear sir,I am in a sad plight. Once I had raised one question which is,Bread and Butter “is” delicious.Butter and Milk “is” delicious. Here in India We are being taught “is” is correct.this Once I had raised the question to the forum and I got the answer “are” is the correct.The thing is here in one private institute, I am teaching Spoken English for the little children. Today I taught my students, Butter and Milk “are” delicious. Somehow Management knew this and scolded me left and right. They told me “is” is the correct and “are” is the wrong. I have been asked the explanation for this, otherwise I may lose my job. Sir, kindly give me a prolonged answer for this.Thank you.

Re: Help1

"Butter and milk are delicious" is correct, just as 1+1=2 is correct. The subject is plural, so the verb must be plural. You could say that "a snack of bread and milk is delicious," but here you have a singular subject (snack.)

Re: Help1

Originally Posted by riquecohen

Yes, I agree that this is fine. I just haven't heard of the combination of "butter and milk," but I feel that "bread and butter" can take a singular verb.

I agree "bread and butter" is singular, it's a standard combination like "bread and cheese" etc. "Butter" and "milk", however, are two different items which don't habitually go together, they take the plural "are".

Re: Help1

Originally Posted by edmondjanet

Dear sir,I am in a sad plight. Once I had raised one question which is,Bread and Butter “is” delicious.Butter and Milk “is” delicious. Here in India We are being taught “is” is correct.this Once I had raised the question to the forum and I got the answer “are” is the correct.The thing is here in one private institute, I am teaching Spoken English for the little children. Today I taught my students, Butter and Milk “are” delicious. Somehow Management knew this and scolded me left and right. They told me “is” is the correct and “are” is the wrong. I have been asked the explanation for this, otherwise I may lose my job. Sir, kindly give me a prolonged answer for this.Thank you.

that this gentleman was highly respected in many countries). Page 49 of

my 1988 edition says that, yes, "is" is often used for things that go

together:

bacon and eggs/ cheese and wine/ fish and chips/ lemon and oil/ tripe and onions, etc.

Tell the principal that you understand that such combinations require

"is" because they refer to a popular combination. Then tell him/her that

Mr. Alexander says that the "correct" verb can sometimes depend on

what the speaker is thinking. Mr. Alexander says we usually say:

Fish and chips is a popular meal in Britain.

BUT if you think of those items as "separate," then a plural verb is

fine: Fish and chips make a good meal.

Explain to the principal that you said "Bread and milk are delicious" because

you were thinking of them as separate items. Maybe you were

thinking of a sentence such as:

Bread and milk are delicious, but they should not be eaten in

very large quantities.

Tell the principal that, of course, you know that if the children

receive a meal of bread and milk every day, then you would

use "is": The children say that bread and milk every day is such

a boring dish/meal.

Of course, the principal does not know what you are thinking, so

maybe he will say, "Oh, I am sorry. You are an excellent teacher."

(4) Also give him this example:

(a) Her loyalty and patriotism was unparalleled in the history of

her people./ Her loyalty and [her] patriotism were unparalleled in the

history of her people.

(i) Those sentences come from Perrin's Index to English (Sixth edition,

p. 25). That book says the writer of the first sentence thinks of

loyalty and patriotism as a unit; the second writer thinks of loyalty and

patriotism as separate things. (Tell the principal -- again -- that you

used "are" because you were thinking of "bread" and "milk" as separate

things. Tell the principal that you, of course, know that "is" is used

when referring to a popular combination. For example: apple pie and

and cheese is my favorite dessert. Tell the principal that

you, of course, know that the singular verb

is used when you are thinking of something as a unit. For example,

Mr. Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (1995) says a singular

verb is used when "two nouns are used together so often that

we think of them as a single unit." His example:

"This gin and tonic is not very strong, is it?"

Repeat (again) to the principal that:

(a) You said "Bread and milk are" because you did not think that those

two things go together so often.

(b) You will be happy to teach the children "bread and milk is"

if the school considers those two things as a unit. That is, two

items that are served together every day as a meal.

(c) You want to be the best teacher possible, and that if two

items are considered separate items, then "are" is the correct

verb to teach the children.

(5) Please let us know what your principal said. I hope that you will be

able to teach there for as long as you wish.

Respectfully yours,

James

Dear sir,
By God's grace I am fine. My Management refuses to hear me. They are not ready to hear what is my explanation. They are saying they are right. Anyhow they allowed me to continue my teaching but I may be transfered to another branch. Anyhow I did not lose my job. I thank to each and everyone who made a guidence to solve this my sad plight.
Thank you so much
Edmond